Okay, maaaaybe I took a little poetic license in reiterating what he said. But it is all for a good cause.
I was commenting on the blog of “A No. 1 Patrick Rothfuss Fan” Logan K. Stewart’s site last night and mentioned that I was kicking myself (you should see the bruises. I think I pulled a groin muscle) for the fact that I forget about Mr. Rothfuss’ most excellent blog for long stretches and by so doing am highly likely missing out on geek-affirming goodness.
And so I was.
You know all those Book Pron posts that we love to read and to write? Those image-laden affairs that cause us to drool all over our cardigans? Well Patrick Rothfuss has made all of us his b*tches! His last month of blogging has page after page after page of the sickest book pron (and geek pron) ever assembled.
Before you go all “good for him, the lucky stiff”, know this: all this book pron is for you and for me. (But mostly for me, ;)).
In all seriousness, Patrick Rothfuss is spearheading a massive fund raising campaign for his favorite charity, Heifer International. One of the many things this organization does is:
Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth.
By giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, we empower them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope.
With gifts of livestock and training, Heifer projects help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. We refer to the animals as “living loans” because in exchange for their livestock and training, families agree to give one of its animal’s offspring to another family in need. It’s called Passing on the Gift – a cornerstone of our mission that creates an ever-expanding network of hope and peace.
Team Rothfuss has raised nearly $150,000 in donations thus far and are shooting for $250,000 before it all ends on January 31st.
You may notice that this post thus far has been devoid of links. There is a reason for that, a method to my madness, so please bear with me just a bit longer.
There are some really cool ways that you can give. One is by purchasing items from his store, The Tinker’s Pack, with all proceeds going to the charity. One of the really fun items to be had on the site is Lee Moyer’s Literary Pin-Up Calendar.
It is a fun, literature-inspired good girl pin-up calendar.
My favorite is the Alice in Wonderland image. You can get a small glimpse of the rest of the images below:
The main way that you can give, however, and probably the one with the most bang for your buck, is to head on over to the Team page that Patrick Rothfuss set up and donate directly. The cool thing about that method is that Wordbuilders will match 50% of your donation AND you’ll be entered into the Lottery.
No, it doesn’t mean a chance at getting a rock up side your head Shirley Jackson style.
What it means is that the cool Book Pron I was talking about has a chance to end up in your hot little hands. For every $10 you donate, your name goes into the hopper once. There have been thousands of cool prizes donated by your favorite people and the more you give the more your chance of winning goes up. Even more cool is that you win something each time your name is drawn from the hat.
Now the reason this part of the post has been devoid of links is that Patrick Rothfuss asked for all traffic to be directed to his site so that you can get the exact instructions on how to get involved. And so without further ado I will ask you to click here:
The Link to All Kinds of Goodness
After you’ve done that, look at Rothfuss’ header image and click on “The Blog” and scroll down to see post after post after post filled with incredible stuff, all of which could be yours.
I’ll let you in on a little secret before you go: I already won something!
Yes indeed:
I provided real, tangible, lasting help to families in need.
That makes me a winner!
You can win too. Come on, you know you want to.
There have been some amazing things posted over there all right, love seeing his blog pop up on my reader so I can check out the latest cool things.
Congrats on the win!
I know. I had to quit looking, my eyes were bugging out.
And we all win when we give! 🙂
I’ve given every year, and this year will be no different. I applaud Pat for doing this excellent thing. And I applaud the geek-world for donating, both money and publications.
No. 1 Patrick Rothfuss Fan. Hmmm…. Maybe… But your post is rather fanatic, too, I daresay.
Yes, but it is fanatical about Patrick Rothfuss or about cows and ducks and chicks? 🙂
It is a really cool idea to do this as a big group thing. My wife and I support World Vision on a regular basis and I just love being able to see the results that can be had with so little money. Makes you realize things are even more ridiculously priced here than they need to be.
Tack on another similarity between us, friend. Keisha & I have been child sponsors through World Vision for 4 or 5 year now, contributing monthly to the cause of international relief through a reputable business. Honestly, though, had I known about Heifer before World Vision, it could’ve been different. Either way it goes, I’m just glad there are legitimate companies (and people) out there that care about the world around us.
Ah, that’s great! Its nice because WV does some of the same things. I love seeing pictures of the child we sponsor and his family, and when we’ve bought animals for them before they always send pix of them with the animals and with new clothes etc. Plus we like the letters from the child and his family.
That T shirt alone has turned me into a Rothfuss fan. I should really read something of his soon …
Isn’t it great?
and yes, you should!
Worldbuilders does incredible things, and thanks to fans, it can do even more incredible every year!
I was excited to read about it, and thrilled to have a chance to take part.
I didn’t even know about Rothfuss’ blog, but I’m glad I’ve learned of it 🙂 That calendar looks awesome!!! I’m a big fan of Heifer Intl too. Really is a great charity!
Although the stuff on the blog right now is really cool, the last month or so isn’t the best representation of how clever and fun his blog normally is. I hope you stop in after the fundraising is over and check out some of his “normal” posts too. He is one of those authors who is also a big time fan and it is fun to see the fan side of him come out in his posts.
Great post Carl. Sorry about the pulled groin though 🙂 I’ve read several blogs recently about this wonderful charity. It is a good reminder that giving happens year round and not just during the holidays. And you have always been a winner in my book.
Oh, just the price one pays for self-abasement. 🙂 It really does sound like a wonderful charity and it is nice to be able to be in a place where we can give.
I made a HUGE donation….
can’t wait for my goodies…
and goats too!
Awesome to hear, Ed. Wish you all the luck in the drawing, and wish your goats long and productive lives. 🙂
done! $20 donated… crossing my fingers for something from Gaiman or Mieville
I will cross my fingers, and toes, for you as well. Would love to hear of just something like that happening.